Since January P14.2M spent on burial assistance

CEBU, Philippines -  An average of 14 people dies in Cebu City everyday.

Based on a document that The Freeman was able to obtain from City Hall’s Burial and Medical Assistance Section, records show that from January up to yesterday, the city has spent P14.2 million in burial assistance.City Ordinance 1686 empowers the city to give P10,000 burial assistance to the direct families of the dead if they are registered residents of the city. Every other day, Mayor Michael Rama distributes the checks to beneficiaries.

Ben Baculi, head of the city government’s Burial and Medical Assistance Section, said that since he assumed the post a few months ago, he worked to speed up the release of the burial assistance.

Every other day, City Hall releases about a million pesos-worth of benefits to more than 100 beneficiaries.

The distribution of burial assistance was earlier entrusted to the barangays but it encountered several problems which prompted Rama to decide that it be handled by his office.

The Office of the Mayor took over the implementation of the burial assistance program which used to be the job of selected barangays.

When the burial assistance program was still handled by the barangays, some funeral parlors complained about the delay in the payment of their services.

The P10,000 cash assistance is available only if the deceased and the claimant are both permanent residents of Cebu City. The claimant must also be the nearest kin who took care of or lived with the deceased immediately prior to death.

Before the burial assistance will be released, Rama grabs the opportunity to remind the beneficiaries to clean up their respective surroundings and practice proper garbage disposal. — (FREEMAN)